Work-holder for button-sewing machines



W. L. BARRON.

WORK HOLDER FOR BUTTON SEWING MACHINE&

APPLICATION FILED APR.12, 191 1.

1,355,1 19. Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT" omce.

WILLIAM L. BARRON; on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTUR- me COMPANY, A CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY. I y

WORK-HOLDER FOR BUTTON-SEWING MACHINES.

1 3 5 5 119 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct-i2, 1920.

Application filed April 12, 1917. Serial No. 161,404.

To all whom it may con cern Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. BARRON, bar enlarged at its extremities and provided a citizen of the United States, residing at between its ends with a shank which is New York, in the county ofNew York and screwed to or made integral with the slide-- State of New York, have invented certain plate in such a position that the enlarged new and useful Improvements in Work- Holders for Button-Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to button sewing machines and has for an object to provide an improved button-clamp therefor adapted to securely hold thick or thin buttons of vari'ous diameters with equal facility. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a button-clamp with simple and readily accessible means for operating the clamping elements to facilitate the insertion of a button therebetween.

In its preferred form the button-clamp comprises a carrier or supporting bar sustaining a pair of levers whose free ends are directed toward each other and constitute button-clamping jaws, each of which is formed with a button-edge engaging shoulder and a button-face sustaining ledge. pair of fiat-springs shaped to conform to the clamping levers are secured each to its respective supporting lever and terminate each in a down-turned end-portion or finger adapted to press upon the upper face of a button disposed between the button-edge en: gaging shoulders and press the button against the button-face sustaining ledges thereunder. These down-turned end-portions or fingers are adapted to approach closer to the plane of the buttton-supporting ledges than the thickness of the button-edge engaging shoulders, and are thereby adapted to grip buttonswhich are thinner than the button-edge engaging shoulders which latter must be made thick enough to engage and grip the peripheral edge-portions of buttons of the larger sizes.

In the present instance, the clamping levers carry pins which enter rearwardly converging slots in a slide-plate which is mounted on the button-clamp carrier or supporting bar and urged forwardly by a spring to force the clamping jaws together. In order that the clamping jaws may be readily opened to facilitate insertion of abutton tlierebetween a readily accessible finger-pi'ece is provided. Such a finger-piece extremities of the bar project laterally at each side of the button-clamp. Either of said extremities may be readily pushed rearwardly to effect an opening of the button- -clamping levers.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a work-holder embodying the present invention. Fig; 2 is a side elevation of the button-clamp. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of. the same. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view. Fig. 5 is an end elevation ofthe button-clamp holding a thin'button. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the clamp holding a thick button and Fig. 7 is a detail of one of the button-engaging levers or clamping elements.

In the present instance, the work-holder is of the well known type disclosed in the patent to J. J. Sullivan, No. 777,564, and comprises a slide-bar 1 carrying a worksupporting plate 2 at its forward end.

ounted upon the slide-bar 1 near its rearward end is a block 3 in which is loosely mounted the forwardly projecting button clamp supporting bar 4 which is pressed toward the slide-bar 1 by means of the usual leaf-spring 5. While in one form of the improvement the button-engaging elements are mounted upon a supporting-bar, they may readily be applied to any other form of carrier depending upon the construction of thesewing machine with which the button-clamp is to be used. Suitably mounted upon the supporting bar. 4 are the clamping levers 6, 6, formed at their in-turned extremities with opposed clamping-jaws each of which comprises a button-edge engaging shoulder 7 and a button-face supporting ledge 8. Projecting downwardly from the levers 6, 6, are'pins 9, 9 which enter the may comprise a transversely extending fiat rearwardly converging slots 10, 10 formed shoulder 7.

The front ends 21, 21 of the horizontal or button-engaging portions of the presserfingers 20, 20 are extended forwardly and upwardly to facilitate insertion of blunt edged buttons into the spaces between the fingers 20, 20 and ledges 8, 8. The ledges 8, 8 are extended forwardly in advance of the front ends 21, 21 of the presser-fingers in order that the edge of a button may be rested upon the ledges 8, 8 before it is pushed under the presser-fingers 20, 20.

Referring to Fig. 5, which shows a thin button held by the button-clamp, it will be seen that the presser-fingers 20, 20 serve to press the button against the ledges 8, 8 while the edge of the button is gripped by the shoulders 7, 7. In Fig. 6, which shows a thick button held by the button-clamp, it will be seen that the springs 17, 17 have yielded upwardly sufficiently to accommodate the thick button while the shoulders 7, 7 are thick enough to engage and grip the edge of the thick button. If the springs 17, 17 were not down-turned at their free ends and the shoulders 7, 7 were made thin enough to permit such springs to engage thin buttons, then such shoulders would not be thick enough to grip the thickened and rounded edge-portion of a large button and would slide under the edge-portion of said large button.

The supporting bar 4 carries an adjustable stop 24 to limit the approach of the levers 6, 6 under the influence of the spring 15 and plate 11. Said stop 24 is preferably in the form of a lever plvoted at one end to the bar 4 by a screw 25 and formed at its opposite end with a finger-piece 26 and slotted segmental portion 27 through which passes a clamping-screw 28. When the stoplever 24 is set to space the button-edge clamping shoulders 7, 7 a given distance apart, buttons whose diameters arebut slightly greater than said given distance may be readily forced between said shoulders and into engagement with the usual button centering stop 29 carried by the slide bar 12.

out disturbing the osition of adjustment of the lever 24. To t is end an additional fin ger-piece 30 is provided. In the present inment of the lever 24, either of the fingerstance said additional finger-piece is in the form of a cross-bar whose extremities 31 are enlarged to form readily accessible fingerpieces at either side of the button-clamp. The bar 30 is provided intermediate its ends with a shank 32 which is secured to the slotted plate 11 as shown in Fig. 4. It will be understood that to separate the levers 6, 6, without disturbing the position of adjustpieces 31, 31-is merely pushed rearwardly.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the form and arrangement of the essential elements thereof are susceptible of material modification within the scope of the invention.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is l. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a support, coacting button-gripping elements carried thereby and formed each with a button edge gripping shoulder and with a button body sustaining ledge, and yielding means for pressing a button against said button body sustaining ledges,

said means being adapted to occupy a position between said button-edge gripping shoulders and overlying said ledges.

2. 'A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a support, directly opposed coacting button gripping elements carried thereby and formed each with a button-edge gripping shoulder and with a button sustaining ledge, and yielding elements each carried by a respective button-gripping element and adapted to project partially within a, plane through the outer extremities of said button-edge gripping shoulders.

3. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a supporting bar, coacting button-gripping levers mounted upon said bar and each formed at its extremity with a button-edge gripping shoulder and with a button sustaining ledge, buttonpresser 10 springs each carried by a respective buttonof said spring and independent manually operated means for efi'ecting the separation of levers.

5. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a supporting bar, button-gripping levers carried by said bar, a springactuated element for moving said levers toward and away from each other, an adjustable stop and coacting stud-screw limiting ments and adapted to approach closer to the,

comprising, a supporting bar, button-gripping levers carried by said bar, a springactuated element for moving said levers toward'and away from each other,'an adjustable stop limiting the movement of said e'lement under the action of said spring, and a finger-piece carried by said element and projecting laterally thereof, whereby said levers may be readily separated.

7. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a support, a pair of oppositely movable button-gripping elements carried by said support, each of said elements comprising a button-edge gripping shoulder and a button-face sustaining ledge, and a pair of yielding fingers each carried by a corresponding one of said button-gripping elements and adapted to approach closer to the button-face sustaining ledge of its respective supporting lever than the thickness of said shoulder. k

8. A work-holder for button sewing machines comprising, in combination, a fabricsupporting plate, and coacting button-gripping elements mounted for movement to ward and from said plate, one of said elements comprising a button-edge positioning shoulder and a button-face supporting ledge, and another of said elements comprising a button-face engaging finger whose terminal portion is adapted to approach closer to said ledge than the thickness of said shoulder.

9. A button-clamp for sewingmachines comprising, a support, a pair of oppositely movable buttonegripping elements carried by said support, each of said elements comprising a button-edge gripping shoulder and a button-face sustaining ledge, and a pair of yielding fingers each carried by a corresponding one of said button-gripping elebutton-face sustaining ledge of its respective supporting lever than the thickness ofsaid shoulder, said fingers being each formedwith a forwardly and upwardly inclined extension to facilitate insertion of thick buttons into the space between said fingers and ledges.

10. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising, a support, coacting button-gripping elements carried thereby and formed each with a button-edge grippin shoulder and with a button sustaining le ge, yielding means for pressing a button against said button sustaining ledges, said means being adapted to project partially below a horizontal plane through the upper extremities of said button-edge gripping shoulders, and lifting means carried by said yielding means and ada ted to lift the latter during insertion of a Button.

11. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising a supporting bar, button-gripping yielding levers mounted on said bar and having at their extremities coacting recesses, and means adapted to extend into said recesses for yieldingly holding a button therein adjacent its edges.

12. A button-clamp for sewing machines comprising a supporting bar, button-gripping levers mounted on said bar and having opposed extremities with coacting recesses therein, spring-fingers extending into said recesses for holding a button therein, and upwardly inclined extensions on said fingers to facilitate insertion of a button.

13. A button-clampfor sewing machines comprising a supporting bar, spring actuated button-engaging means carried by said bar, an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of said button-engaging means, and manually operable means in advance and independent of said stop for actuating said button-engaging means.

14. In a button-clamp for sewing machines, coacting button-engaging elements, elastic means tending to close said elements, adjustable means for holding them a fixed distance apart, and manual means at each side of the clamp for increasing said dis- 4 

